The present invention relates to electric devices that facilitate, regulate, monitor, or otherwise modify current flowing through a current carrying system. Preferred embodiments of the present invention are electrical switches.
A principal feature of the present invention is the discovery that certain liquids have varying dielectric properties depending upon the thickness of the liquid layer. These liquids are referred to herein as mesoscopically conductive liquids or mesoscopic conductors or mesoscopic liquids. Thick layers of these mesoscopic liquids are insulators; whereas thin layers are conductors. One embodiment of the present invention involves a use of such mesoscopic conductors in a current carrying device wherein a conductor moves relative to a conducting surface, which it engages. Such embodiments are effective and dependable substitutes for various conventional switches such as mercury switches.
A mercury tilt switch is used for indicating the presence of an angular orientation through the creation of an electrical signal. Such uses range from thermostat controls and motion detectors, to ordinance devices and liquid level controls, among others. While liquid mercury provides an ideal medium in such a case, mercury possesses substantial drawbacks such as environmental pollution and toxicity. It is desirable to provide a non-mercury alternative to the mercury switch.
Workers attempting to satisfy that need have devised switches comprised of a chamber surrounding a mobile conductive element, e.g., gold plated balls, which fulfills the role of mercury. Strategically disposed within the chamber are electrodes. The gold plated ball functions as an alternative to the free flowing mercury. Thus, when the ball simultaneously contacts the electrodes, an electrical signal is transferred. Those devices, however, suffer from low current carrying or switching capacity, high contact resistance, short life and/or electrical bounce.